Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – The Old Course

1 October 2024

Last but by no means least in our Alfred Dunhill Links Championship series, we have The Old Course, fitting given that the Championship ends there.

As with our other blogs on Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, we will take a quick look at some top-level statistics on The Old Course.

The Old Course

Amateurs find The Old Course the easiest of the three courses to score on with an average score to par of 9.95, 1.53 strokes better than that of Kingsbarns. 

Players have the greatest chance of finding the fairway and green in regulation at St Andrews which helps with scoring. However, having some of the largest greens in golf definitely helps to boost the GIR numbers! 

In terms of putting, it is close to the 2 mark which is pretty standard, although it is the highest of the three courses which is likely down to players having some lengthy putts on the dual greens etc.

The iconic opening tee shot at St Andrews gives players the best chance at finding a fairway in regulation with it being one of the largest in golf, lets take a look at the stats behind the hole.

Hole 1 – Burn – Par 4 – Blue Tees 355yds – DP World Tour 376yds

Despite being one of the largest fairways in the game, 3% of amateur golfers have still managed to miss it – if you are one of them, you are part of an exclusive club! 

Jokes aside, teeing off on the first at The Old Course can be a daunting prospect with members of the public stopping to watch and knowing the history of the course.

Once off the tee, players have essentially a 50/50 chance of finding the green with those who miss it having a 1 in 3 chance of saving their par.

Although the fairway is more than generous, and the chances of hitting the green are good, players still struggle on the first, typically making bogey, with a scoring average of 4.65 – making it the 7th hardest hole, possibly because of the tricky undulations on the green.

With a water hazard protecting the front of the green, and potentially in reach for some off the tee, picking the correct club is made easy with a Shot Scope golf GPS watch. Our watches come with front and carry distances to every hazard so you can navigate them like a pro.

Next up, we take a look at the hardest hole at The Old Course, and of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the Road hole (17th).

Hole 17 – Road – Par 4 – Blue Tees 427yds – DP World Tour 495yds

Again, one of the game’s most iconic tee shots, players must be brave and hit their drives over an old railway shed, taking the ball out of bounds before finding its way back into play over the other side.

Unlike the first hole, finding this fairway is not as easy with many players favoring the left rough to avoid going out of bounds and finding themselves near the Jigger Inn. 

Being brave off the tee gives players a better line into the green, those who go too far left will have little green to aim at with the famous road hole bunker protecting the majority of the green – Shot Scope users who have found themselves in this bunker failed to get up and down 90% of the time!

The Road hole can derail a round in a heartbeat with players finding the green in regulation every 1 in 5 attempts, and when missing it, will fail to get up and down from all lie types 75% of the time – dropping shots here is easy.

At the 2023 Dunhill Links Championship, the hole was the hardest of the tournament playing 0.52 strokes over par with only 2 birdies made on the hole!

The only saving grace, if you drop one on the 17th, you get a chance at the 18th.

Hole 18 – Tom Morris – Par 4 – Blue Tees 366yds – DP World Tour 357yds

For amateurs and pros alike, the 18th is ‘kind’ and presents an opportunity to finish the round on a high. For the amateur, the 3rd easiest hole is a great chance to make a par, and for the pro, the 7th easiest hole is a great chance to make a birdie.

The enormous fairway should be an easy one to hit with 95% of players doing it, although not everyone does, one of our writers worked in the Rusacks in 2018 when a stray ball came through the bar window!

Again the generous-sized green gives players a great chance to find the putting surface and make their par, getting cute and coming up short in the Valley of Sin would be unwise so be sure to take plenty club.

Having an exact number to the pin is crucial when playing into the green, especially with such danger at the front. Shot Scope laser rangefinders give golfers distances accurate to within a yard instantly!

Last year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship saw the field make 1 eagle, 65 birdies, 85 pars, 3 bogeys, and one double resulting in a scoring average of 3.60 – a par costs nearly half a stroke and a bogey sets you back 1.4 strokes!

If you want to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, you need to capitalise on this hole especially with it being potentially driveable under the right conditions for longer Tour players.

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